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I’m a Technical Agile Scrum Master so what does this involve? Let me explain…

For many years, when it came to software development, we followed the Waterfall methodology where something would be completed as a single project that would take months or years to be delivered. Now we also have the Agile methodology which allows you to deliver software products in an incremental way. With the Agile methodology we breakdown what is to be implemented into smaller cycles (called a Sprint) and we give the client elements of the product every couple of weeks which means they do not have to wait to see if we’re developing the right product as it’s a continuous development cycle. As a Scrum Master, I enable the team to self-organise, self-manage, and deliver the business values incrementally and iteratively following the agile practices agreed within the team.

I’m responsible for a team of around eight/nine people and every day I will help them to work in this Agile way: how to think fast, how to think in the client’s shoe and to understand the value of what we are working on. I joined Accenture in a pure technical role as a Senior Software Engineer focussing on web frontend development. Although I am techie, I hold a UK Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) and I’ve always wanted to get in to management, so being a Technical Agile Scrum Master now is perfect for me.

As part of my role, I equip my scrum team to enable them to deliver what’s needed and at the same time act as team’s go-to person on agile methodology. I’m utilising my technical skills to resolve issues quickly as I completely understand what the team is delivering and can recognise issues as soon as they arise. An Agile Scrum Master is all about facilitation and I’m using my technical skills to facilitate the team in the right way quickly.

We have a 15 minute daily stand up meeting (standing, rather than sitting, reinforces the idea that the meeting is intended to be short and discourages wasting time ) with the team to essentially get a quick update on what they worked on yesterday, plan for the day ahead and see if there are any blockers – this is one of the four ceremonies that Agile Scrum encourages. Another is Sprint Planning which happens at the start of each cycle when we look at the things we need to focus on, and everyone understands what they need to deliver during the next week or two. Then by the end of the sprint (which is normally between 2-4 weeks) we have the Sprint Demo with the client to show them what we have developed and to go through the new features, the value added and see if they agree or not. Then at the end of every sprint we have a Sprint Retrospective where we come together and look at what we have done in the past couple of weeks – did we communicate right and were any blockers etc. and I collect all the feedback and put those into actions to ensure similar issues do not reoccur on the next sprint run.

I am very proud of all the projects I’ve had the chance to work on, as in most cases, once they have gone live, I’m able to see the benefits of the technology being used in the real world. I know Accenture is working with some of the latest technologies such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence, but it’s not just about using the very latest tools on the market it’s also about how we use the tools. Accenture’s huge client base and its relative working experience creates an immense knowledge pool for itself. With the one global team attitude and the right level of information sharing, we were able to solve the most complex problems in the market with simple tools and technology.

In the past, I’ve worked for other companies too, but the people here are the standout difference - there is mutual respect for every-one and professionalism prevails at its best here. I think the people are great because of the processes in place to help them - good processes create good people and good people create good processes.

Ramesh using his paid charity days to help with a foodbank project.

If you want to work on projects where you’ll solve complex business issues using the new technology and new thinking, visit our careers site.

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